Friday, November 25, 2011

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare

Tee hee. I will admit that I gathered suggestions from several of the teen boys in my family, and I picked this one because it's the easiest and cheesiest read! (Other suggestions were The Power of One and Fight Club. Quite honestly, my brain is tired of challenging, thoughtful reading. :-)

So, I had a ball with this book. It definitely is geared towards the younger of the young adult, and the writing level might be at fifth grade level, but I enjoyed it. Yes, there are some enormous holes in the storyline, but I didn't mind. I did keep trying to make the cover art fit in with someone in the story, but that never happened. Vampires don't grow fangs after all. . . or so we're told.

I liked the spin on the misconceptions about the vampire and the idea that maybe they could exist under the book's definition and parameters. This series is the only series of books my youngest son has ever read (not counting Dark Horse, graphic novels) in full. . . twelve volumes? How I wish I could find something else to pique his interest and hold it like these books did.

Any kid who enjoys the macabre and idea that there are monsters and freaks among us will like this book. I was satisfied with where the book ended, so I probably won't read any of the sequels, but I understand why kids will want to find out what adventures lay ahead for young Darren.